Before I came to Korea I had never worked with children, however, I've spent the last nine months teaching, eating lunch with, and playing with them. I now feel I know a thing or two about them and in addition, they have taught me an incredible amount about Korea, myself, and so many other things. I'd like to take a few minutes to share a bit about Korean kids' lives and then share a few of my favorite or more interesting moments since I've been teaching here.
English teacher's in Korea always end up discussing Korean children's lives and comparing them to the lives of children in our home countries. Usually the conversation revolves around the role of education and extra-curricular activities in children's lives and how this structures them. For example, in the USA, most children go to school from 8-4ish, have some extra-curricular activity or a part-time job, and sleep between 8-11pm depending on their age. On the whole, I believe it's safe to say that American's value a well-rounded life of school, sports, music, art, work, etc. Korea is quite a bit different.
A typical Korean child's day can look something like this:
Jee-hoon's Day, age 14, first year middle-school
6:00 - wake up, eat breakfast, often study
8:00 - go to school
4:00 - finish school and go to hagwon (private academy) for math
6:30 - finish and have a snack/dinner
7:00 - go to second hagwon for English
10:00 - go home, do homework
11:00 - play games
12:00 - go to bed
Now this is not every Korean child's day, but it is fairly typical and high-lights the main differences. Korean education is very heavy on academics and testing and, past elementary school, has very little focus on music, the arts, or sports, unless you go to a special school that emphasizes those. Korean children also have a very long day. They wake up early, they stay up late, and in the middle they spend 90% of their time studying. Usually the late night hagwons pertain to kids that are in middle-school and above, but I do know of students as young as nine who have lessons at 9pm. I don't know about you, but that's when I went to bed. To add to this, they also often either have school or go to hagwons on Saturdays.
Then there is testing...Testing begins early and the importance of it only increases as children get older. Elementary school is similar for all (I believe), but when children are in sixth grade they take a test and often have interviews in order to be placed in level appropriate middle-schools. The climax of the testing experience is the test for university placement, which is something like a national event. As the test nears special "good luck" food" (sticky rice cakes, so the knowledge sticks to you) is sold and on the day of the test the streets are quieter and there is an air of tension in the air. It's almost as if the country is holding their breath, crossing their fingers, holding their thumbs, or whatever they feel they must do for it to be a success. Last year, the test's usual date fell during the G20 conference that was held in Seoul. In order to avoid any possible distractions because of the special arrangements and to enable the students to attend, the test was rescheduled.
The children I work with don't seem to have such stressful lives, which can probably be attributed to their age (elementary) and the rural location. I only have a handful of students that are able to attend hagwon. This means their lives are a bit less stressful now, but the reality is, is that it will probably hinder their future possibilities. While all of the studying often seems like madness to an outsider's point of view, there is a is a logical explanation. South Korea has a population of roughly 50,000,000 people and, according to Wikipedia, is about the size of half the size of Minnesota. This creates a highly saturated and competitive job market. To "get a good job and get ahead" students need to have the best test scores, go to the best schools, speak the best English, etc. Is it good? Is it bad? Is one system better than the other? It's hard to say and worth debate, but then again, every time I find myself discussing it the conversation comes back to the point that I am part of the system...is it wrong? am I helping? am I being a hypocritical? I don't know, but it's paying the bills...
Here are a couple links to show you more about Korean children.
PBS Video clip (thanks to Brandon Walters for sending this to me!)
Korean English Newspaper Article (Joongnang Daily)
And now something more up lifting, some memorable moments with the little ones:
3rd grade Student: (through translation) "Teacher, on pizza their is Imsil cheese. (the most famous cheese in Korea) How do you make pizza in the USA without Imsil cheese?"
Kindergarten Student: "Teacher, why are your eyes blue?"
Sometimes we play soccer:
Student 1: "Teacher, me Ronaldo."
Student 2: "Teacher, me Park, Ji Sung."
Me: Ok, ok (laughing) can I see the ball?
They pass it and I juggle a little bit.
Students: "O wow teacher! Good good! In USA play soccer?"
Me: "Yes, in USA girls play soccer."
Students: "OOOOoooooo...."
(They do in SK too, but not widely. They have a good national team though. Special academies...?)
Teaching 1st and 2nd grade by myself:
Me: "Ok kids let's go over there and play a game." (Mostly I just gesture over there, make a circle, and say "game!"). I go to turn the light on in the adjoining room. When I turn back around I see one kid show his chest, the next moon all of us, and the third kid whips it out! I was baffled. I didn't know if I was shocked or just wanted to laugh. I just went and got a Korean teacher.
Student: "Teacher. Candy." and hands me a sucker.
Student: "Merry Christmas teacher, I love you!" and hands me a card.
One day I played a game with my third graders. The winners got candy. Instead of just eating it, they each broke their candy in half and shared it with the other team.
Student: (in Korean) "Teacher, speak Korean."
Me: No
Student: Yes, just hello.
Me: No
Student: Please....
Me: Anyeonghasseyo (hello in Korean)
Students: just laughing...teacher...ha hahahaha
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